Personal Excellence

We all have bad days, off patches, periods. That’s natural.

BUT what do you do during these times?

What do you say to yourself when things go wrong?

“I can’t do this anymore”

“It’s not my lucky day”

“Typical”

“Never mind”

The words you say to yourself are programming your future thoughts, feelings and actions every second and their impact is hugely powerful.

Recognising what you say to yourself during difficult times is vital if you want to succeed.

Difficult times are inevitable. Reacting positively is not.

What did the Greatest (Muhammad Ali) say to himself?

“I am the greatest” of course!

What about Jose Mourinho?

“I am the special one”

Constructing and reinforcing your own motto is absolutely essential to everyday performance and minimising down times.

A simple “come on” works.

“You can do this”

“Let’s go again, come on”

The one thing that is most common in holding people back in life is doubt.

Doubt is a form of negative thinking. These negative thoughts stem from past experiences of your own or others you know of, from your analytical brain trying to predict the future and your own belief system.

Doubt is a form of fear and as I have explained in a previous post, FEAR is an acronym for False Expectations Appearing Real. 

We all face doubt every day and most of the time it is running below the surface preventing us from taking the necessary action we are capable of.

It may creep in when you set yourself a new goal or when you do something you have not done before. We face these situations all the time so doubt really does have an active presence in our day to day lives.

Doubt doesn’t like sleep!

So how do the best performers cope with doubt? How do they overcome it?

I’ve been working with some fantastic coaches and leaders recently in business and sport and I have become aware of something very powerful.

The difference between being good and being GREAT.

What is the difference?

My insight may not be what you expect.

I have discovered that the difference between being good at something and being GREAT at something is quite small. Let me explain.

I am not saying that you only have to do a little bit more work or put in a little bit more effort to become great.

What I am saying is that the difference lies in the smallest of details.

Great athletes, great coaches, great leaders… they all focus on every small detail no matter how small as long as they believe it will help them and their people to improve.

And I believe that the difference lies in those individuals who are willing to pay attention to every small detail and apply what they learn no matter how small it seems.

It is this attention to detail that makes the difference.

It is a mindset ultimately.

What does the word responsibility mean to you?

For me, it means how you respond to the events in your life. And it is your response that then determines your results.

For example:

You try something. It doesn’t work out. Do you try again? Do you give up? Do you become more determined to succeed? Or do you dwell in the disappointment?

Your Response – ability will determine every result in your life.

How would you rate your ability to respond to the events that happen in your life?

Realising that your response is your choice is the first step to improve your response-ability.

How can you start doing that?

Quit moaning about the weather, the economy, other people, your job, your circumstances – this is a virus that will just keep you stuck in a negative mindset. If you want to lead a successful life you cannot be spending any of your time focusing on the negative aspects of life – least of all constantly banging on about them!

Successful people are quick to find and implement a solution.

I have recently started working with an athletics club which has some great people, all the way from the coaches and staff to the athletes and the parents. The club has a World champion, several Olympic athletes and many young future Olympians and national champions already.

Last night I was talking to some of the youngsters about the difference between the very BEST, the champions and those that don’t quite make it.

I explained that the difference is in the final 1%. Those that are willing to go to the place where most people won’t are the ones who WIN. Some of them may not even win that many medals but by pushing themselves to go to places where most people are afraid to go, they fulfil their potential as athletes. And that is the ultimate goal. That is all they can do.

They cannot control the destiny of other athletes. They can only control their own. Do their personal best. And when they have done that, no matter where it places them in their field, they are a winner, a champion.